Mid-Valley Wrestling Wins National Team Title

Thirty-two Mid-Valley wrestlers travelled to Saskatoon to compete at the National Cadet / Juvenile wrestling championships this April 5 - 8. The club had its best performance ever by winning the juvenile boys team title, placing sixth for the girls juvenile, 6th place for boys cadet and 2nd place for girls cadet.

In the juvenile boys division we had three finalists. Jesse Arnett, with a come from behind victory in his quarter-final match made short work of his semi-final opponent to advance to the finals. Jesse fought hard and settled for the silver medal. Outstanding achievement for a first year juvenile. Joey Emanuels came from behind in two of his matches to make finals and also came second losing to a more experienced wrestler. Bachitter Gill cruised through his preliminary matches to make finals and got caught on his back in the final and also settled for silver. Bronze medals were won by Chris Sheaves who beat the number one seed to win the bronze. Allan Rochon, wrestling in one of the tougher weight classes, lost only to the eventual gold medalist and most outstanding wrestler of the tournament to claim a bronze. Philip Qumsieh avenged an earlier loss to fellow B.C. wrestler John Pineda by beating him 10-0 to also claim the bronze. Also placing in the juvenile division was Shaun Leong with a 5th place finish and J.D. Dhaliwal coming in sixth

In the juvenile girls division, superstar Tashia Kothlow completely dominated all opponents. She literally ripped apart the defending champion in the semi-finals and made short work of her opponent in the finals. She is way ahead of any of her competition in Canada. In fact, not one of her matches lasted the full six minutes.

In the Cadet boys division, Mid-Valley dominated the 52kg division. Gurveer Talhan was the star of the 52kg class. He won a nail-biter in the semi-final 2-1 (overtime) to face fellow Mid-Valley wrestler Bo Gregson. The final was literally a battle between these two friends. Gurveer came out on top with a 4-2 victory with Gregson claiming silver. Dan Sheaves finished out with a fourth place finish. Mid-Valley has three of the top four wrestlers in the country at 52kg. Quite an achivement! Ken Evans finished with a 5th place finish, while Todd Radons and Ian McHaig rounded it out with 6th place finishes.

The Cadet girls division also featured three finalists. Shannon Rafter won her semi-final match in the dying seconds to make it to the finals before settling for silver. The 49kg finals also featured an all Mid-Valley final, Jeraldine Chan vs. Shaleen Smyrski. Jeraldine came out on top 9-0 to take the gold with Shaleen claiming the silver medal. Rounding out the girls division was Dana Miller with a 5th place finish and Meggie Shields with a 6th.

Overall, with 32 wrestlers, Mid-Valley had 12 medals and 19 top sixth placers. An outstanding achievement for any club. We are continuing to grow and become stronger and will be a dominant force on the national stage. This success has to do with many people. The athletes, club and high school coaches, and the parents who support this program. It is a community effort that produces success and we have an excellent model for other clubs to follow.

Results

Juvenile Boys

Jesse Arnett 52kg Silver
Joey Emanuals 68kg Silver
Bachitter Gill 54kg Silver
Philip Qumsieh 63kg Bronze
Chris Sheaves 46kg Bronze
Allan Rochon 81kg Bronze
Shaun Leong 63kg 5th
J.D. Dhaliwal 58kg 6th

Juvenile Girls

Tashia Kothlow 60kg Gold

Cadet Boys

Gurveer Talhan 52kg Gold
Bo Gregson 52kg Silver
Dan Sheaves 52kg 4th
Ken Evans 60 kg 5th
Ian McHaig 60kg 6th

Cadet Girls

Jeraldine Chan 49kg Gold
Shaleen Smyrski 49kg Silver
Shannon Rafter 63kg Silver
Dana Miller 46kg 5th
Meggie Shields 46kg 6th

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